Mr Motivator
By TMX Archives on 14th Sep 05
What an incredible change of times I've had this month. I bought a camper, loaded up all my stuff and headed off with Amy on a major road-trip so I've not seen Bingo, Mervyn or Ronnie (my two donkeys and cat) in over a month. My friend Burnsy has kindly lived in our house for the period we've been away to dust and clean and keep the bed warm - cheers Burnsy! The time has flown by. The weather has been good to us and I have totally enjoyed the experience - it's made me very enthusiastic for the season of '06. Right now I have a picture in my mind of being on the startline of the Hawkstone International with a fresh and injury-free body, filled with a passion to twist the throttle. The last two seasons have been destroyed through serious injury and the chances I have left in my career are getting smaller. As Lance Armstrong says, every second counts (wasn't that Paul Daniels? - SL). So with that in mind I'm pushing through this year and taking the knocks in a quest to rebuild the blocks of my form that have fallen down. Right now I'm having to take a lot on the chin and accept the humiliation of being off the pace of the leaders. Emotionally it's soul-destroying but I've been through enough in my career not to be beaten by this current experience. Next year I'm going to win the British championship and put myself back in the top five in the world. I estimate my motivation will last around another four years and I'm willing to dedicate all of my time and sacrifice other things in my life for this chance of a lifetime to succeed at world level. I've proved in the past that I have the talent required to run at the front and I believe that a rider never loses this talent - although it's evident that your form can drop. And it takes hard work to regain your form. I need as much help as I can to get back to the top and I must forget about the history of my career and act like a rookie would in order to progress week by week. This winter is very valuable to me and I plan to use it wisely. I'll welcome anyone to join me on my training programme through the winter months - hard work's always easier if others are suffering alongside you! This year I didn't go to America for pre-season practice and I think it was a mistake so I intend to go to California next January. This week I'm going from one extreme to another - the last time I rode a motocross bike it was in the deep sand of Lierop, on September 10 I'm riding in the Irish round of the world supermoto championship at Bishops Court. I'm a virgin to supermoto but I am excited to be taking part in a world class event on home soil. I'll be very careful to keep my feet on the pegs as much as possible due to the fact I dislocated my big toe in Lierop and don't wish to experience more pain if I can help it. At this point it's probably a good time to thank Steve Woodhouse and Zane for helping me out with the bike for the supermoto. I also want to wish Neil McKeown the best of luck with the future - I was devastated when I heard the news of his crash. In case I don't see ya, good morning, good afternoon, good evening and good night! Words by Gordon Crockard Photo by Alex Hodgkinson